The effect of sand particle concentrations on the vibratory cavitation erosion

Comparisons between the cavitation erosion (CE) in pure water and cavitation-silt erosion (CSE) in sand suspensions were carried out experimentally on 304 stainless steel. The damage was evaluated by mass loss, scanning electron microscopy, roughness and surface residual stress. The effects of the particles and the sand concentrations on the CSE were analyzed. The results show that cumulative mass loss decreases with increasing sand concentration until the sand concentration exceeds 3 wt%. A center region and the periphery of the test surface are dominated by particles erosion wear and CE respectively at lower sand concentrations. While the entire surface is covered by the particles erosion wear at higher sand concentrations. However, the roughness declines with increasing sand concentration in both regions. The damage mechanism is also proposed based on the comprehensive analyses.